Since the big US Nintendo Wii conference is going to be at 9am, I want to be sure I’m up for it, so I’ll try and keep this brief-yet-informative.

1. Even though the Wii big event we’ve all been waiting for isn’t, as noted, until 9am, it seems that there is some information that has leaked, and GameSpot reports that the New York Times has it.The Times reports that the system will launch on November 19th in North and South America(with 4 million reaching retail by year’s end) with 25 first- and third-party games available, with first-party going at $50 a pop, with the exception of Wii Sports– that one’s a freebie, featuring bowling, golf, tennis, and baseball.They also mention that while The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Excite Truck will be available by the end of the year, Mario, on the other hand, won’t me making his Wii debut until after the clock strikes 12 in Times Square, if you get what I mean.

   Internet capabilities are also reported by The Times, with web-surfing said to be “akin to that of a home computer.”

   “Nintendo also appears to be moving away from its GameCube-era “game consoles should be for games only” mantra. Besides the Wii’s previously announced DVD playback abilities, the console will also have many multimedia functions. “There will be a photo channel that will allow users to use the Wii to display digital photographs on television,” read the report. “There also will be an easy-to-use interactive news channel and weather channel.”

   An interesting development, if slightly hypocritical. On the one hand, Nintendo in the past has boasted dedicated machinery as being its bread and butter, but conversely, in their attempt to reach the non-gamer market, perhaps they felt that such measures work best in tandem with the Wii’s approach.

2. IGN brings further details from the same source, citing “Nintendo’s Wii console will come packaged with one Wii remote, one nunchuck attachment, an AC adapter, an audio/video cable, a sensor bar, sensor bard stand, a Wii console stand and two batteries. The package will also come bundled with a copy of Wii Sports, a compilation sports game that best shows off the mechanics of the system’s unique controller. Wii Sports features tennis, baseball, golf and previously unannounced bowling and boxing games.”IGN also cites that the price will be $250, Opera will be the included web browser, and that 30 Virtual Console games will be available at launch.“Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each. Specifically, Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced that Virtual Console games would cost 500 yen ($5), 800 yen ($8) or 1,000 yen ($10); we’re presuming these prices are for NES, SNES and N64 games respectively.”

   Next-Gen also adds that “titles from the Zelda, Mario and Donkey Kong franchises” will be included.

   Additional “Wiimotes” are said to cost “3800 yen or about $40; the nunchuck 1800 yen or about $20 and the classic controller 1800 yen or about $20.” Whether or not that will hold in the US is of course up to speculation, though one would suggest that selling the pieces seperately at such a price may not go over so well here. But on the other hand, Japan isn’t getting Wii Sports in their bundle, so clearly packaging may vary by region.

   Surprisingly, and if I’m not mistaken, in an unprecedented move by Nintendo, the US will get the system first, with Japan receiving it on December 2nd.

3. IGN also reports that the new Famitsu reveals the title of the upcoming Wii Resident Evil/Biohazard game as Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles, though there’s little other information about the game at the time.You can see the scan at JeuxFrance.com.
4. FINALLY, IGN has some screens of a new level from Sonic and the Secret Rings.Looks nice, still want to see more. MORE!
5. onNintendo covers the Japanese Wii conference, and adds:“30 Nintendo games are going to be launched within the year, another 30 will be launched; after which; 10 Virtual Console titles will be launched every month after that. You will be able to purchase these with a credit card or the Wii point pre-paid card.”They also mention there’s now a Japanese version of Wii.com(now sporting a simple teaser), which you can see here, which Go Nintendo says has tons of videos to see.
6. Go Nintendo has linked to a Wii lineup preview video that shows off several titles, and how they may be played.
7. After having pretty much covered everything else of value, I can still give you at least one piece more from Joystiq, that being the Japanese Wii box, down at the bottom of their post there. And unless my eyes deceive me, it may be worthwhile to note that the console itself isn’t pictured on the front of the box, simply a hand holding a controller.
8. I still don’t see Contra.Why do I keep seeing the same reports for this if there’s no Contra?WHY?!
9. Soundwave is a perennial fan-favorite TransFormer, at least among fans of Generation 1, so it only stands to reason that he should see a reissue eventually, and via The Allspark, TFormers brings us a few pics of the reissue, who should now be able to store TWO of his Cassettecons!
10. Just a reminder for the TransFans out there: if you’re planning to go to BotCon, pre-registration ends… well, tomorrow, actually.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 3:53 am and is filed under The Daily 'Shroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.